Blood
We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men - Herman Melville
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Saving Lives Is in My Blood
I was lounging on the couch as a storm raged outside when a doctor from the New York Blood Center called. I panicked. Did my last donation turn up some fatal disorder? No. The doctor calmly said there was an urgent need for my blood, a perfect match for a sick 11-year-old girl.
Fifteen years earlier, when my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at 69, I made a bargain with God. If dad survived, I swore to give back for that gift. When dad initially improved after chemo, radiation and surgery, I started volunteering. In my mid-40s I washed dishes at a soup kitchen, worked at the New York City Marathon and sporadically tutored music students.
But I found my calling…
Resources
Don’t Only Give Blood After a Tragedy
“If you give blood even two hours after an event, the people who are going to die of bleeding are already dead by the time it's ready.”
The NHS has a cunning plan to get more men donating blood
Men aren’t exactly pulling their weight when it comes to signing up to donate parts of themselves. Fewer men than women are registered donors – whether for blood, stem cells, or to give their organs after they die. And when it comes to blood, the situation is particularly dire.
What Is the Blood of a Poor Person Worth?
Desperate people can make $30 donating plasma, up to 104 times a year, in this $20 billion industry.
‘Nine Pints’ Review: The Stuff of Life
Blood is one of our most precious commodities, making it possible to save trauma patients, diagnose illness and uncover the deepest genetic traits. It can also be one of the most dangerous, creating malignancies and transmitting deadly infections. Each of us has nine pints of it—thus the title of Rose George’s “journey through the money, medicine, and mysteries of blood,” as her subtitle has it.
Blood Donations, Sexual Orientation, and Societal Health
The FDA is considering lifting restrictions on blood donation based on sexual orientation. If they do, increasing the blood supply will be only the most straightforward benefit.
Does Giving Blood Harm Your Immune System?
Short answer: No.
A Blood Donor Who Tops the Global Charts
James Harrison, 78, has donated blood every few weeks for the past 60 years—and his is no ordinary donation.
Almost Everyone Can Donate Blood—Except Sex Workers
If you've ever exchanged money for sexual services, you're barred from giving blood in the UK—forever. Sex workers explain why the ban is unjust.
Americans want a say in what happens to their donated blood and tissue in biobanks
Those who ask you to donate some of yourself must remember that it is important not only to protect your privacy but also to ensure that your decision to do good for others does not violate your sense of what is good.
Blood Plasma, Sweat, and Tears
When cobbling together a livable income, many of America’s poorest people rely on the stipends they receive for donating plasma.
Hospitals Aim to Better Match Blood Donors and Recipients
As researchers uncover more genetic variations in blood types, they are identifying new risks to patients needing transfusions. Hospitals and blood banks are turning to more precise genetic methods to screen blood donors and recipients to prevent a mismatch, which can be fatal
Oh, the places your blood will go after you donate it
Blood donations are actually full of important disease data.
The Bigotry of Gay-Blood-Donation Bans
In the wake of the shooting in Orlando, the city is in desperate need of contributions. Due to a long-standing FDA policy, LGBT people can’t participate.
The Twisted Business of Donating Plasma
Biotest, CSL Plasma, Yale Plasma. These are some of the funny corporate names that dot my state, New Mexico, and maybe yours. Or OctaPharma. Or Biolife. Plasma reaped from paid U.S. donors makes up about 70 percent of worldwide collections. The United States is conversationally known in the industry as “the OPEC of plasma collections.”
This Startup Aims To Solve Greece’s Blood Donor Problem
Blood-e is a digital community of volunteer blood donors, a community where those in need of blood can safely publish their requests.
Too Old to Donate Blood?
In general, you can never be too old to donate blood. Though you can be too young or too thin. The American Association of Blood Banks used to bar people over 65 from donating blood, but it scrapped the rule in 1978 after studies found that older people who stored their own blood prior to surgery did well, said Dr. Steven Kleinman, the association’s senior medical adviser. Now most blood banks are happy to accept blood from older volunteers.
Why Most Gay Men Still Aren't Allowed to Donate Blood
The FDA’s current policy puts the US in line with other countries like Great Britain and Australia. But elsewhere, like in Italy, blood banks have moved from a blanket ban on men who have sex with men to “individual sexual risk assessment.”
Saving Lives Is in My Blood
I’d found a form of charity for which I was especially qualified. “You’re such a good bleeder,” one attendant told me. I enjoyed emails informing me that my blood had gone to patients at local hospitals or to Florida and Texas hurricane victims. Over time, instead of giving whole blood, the persuasive vampires hooked me to apheresis machines, which separate and extract platelets or plasma—as well as double red cells, called “power red.”
Give Blood UK
We guarantee to deliver blood, blood components, blood products and tissues from our 15 blood centres to anywhere in England and North Wales.
Socialblood
Donating blood will never be the same again. Socialblood is building the largest network of blood donors, Hospitals and Blood banks on the web.
Bloode
Through Bloode’s online service, you can create, promote and satisfy real time, ongoing calls for blood, in order to save patients who need blood transfusion. You don’t have to be a blood donor to join Bloode, all you need to do is share the ongoing calls for blood, get informed about our actions and learn about blood donation. This is your chance to help and support our efforts, in order to save even more lives.
Incept
Incept is a conversational marketing firm that specializes in developing and strengthening relationships with your current and potential donors, on your behalf.
AABB
We are an international association representing individuals and institutions involved in activities related to transfusion and cellular therapies, including transplantation medicine.
America's Blood Centers
Through sophisticated animation and microscopy, the My Blood, Your Blood'' program captures the imagination of students of all ages and helps foster an interest in science. The program also emphasizes the value of community service through blood donation and the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
American Red Cross
We all expect blood to be there for us, but barely a fraction of those who can give do. Yet sooner or later, virtually all of us will face a time of great vulnerability in which we will need blood. And that time is all too often unexpected.
American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation is a national professional association that promotes advancement of the field of blood and bone marrow transplantation. ASBMT members are both in clinical practice and in research.
Australian & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion
The Australian & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion comprises members from diverse scientific, technical and medical backgrounds working within the areas of Blood Tranfusion and Transfusion Medicine within Australia and New Zealand.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
The vision of the ARCBS is to share life''s best gift by the provision of quality blood products, tissues and related services for the benefit of the community. Every year, thousands of people benefit from blood transfusions or blood products, resulting in many lives being saved.
British Blood Transfusion Society
To promote knowledge and advance understanding of all aspects of transfusion medicine for the public benefit.
Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.
Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine
The Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine is a multidisciplinary society which promotes and supports the best practice in Transfusion Medicine in Canada through education, communication and partnerships.
International Committee of the Red Cross
an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance.
International Society of Blood Transfusion
The International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) is a scientific society of world renown, founded in 1935 and bringing together professionals involved in blood transfusion and transfusion medicine from more than 85 countries.
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